Ted Turner and T. Boone Pickens called for quick action by Congress and the American people on energy and climate change during a debate on those topics at a National Press Club luncheon.

Pickens, who chairs the hedge fund BP Capital Management, was once skeptical about climate change but said he now believes it to be a real threat. He has major concerns with "what is going into the atmosphere," he told a packed ballroom.

Turner, founder and former head of CNN, agreed with Pickens that natural gas is part of the solution to the U.S.' energy problem, which has been dramatized lately by rising gasoline prices. But Turner sees natural gas as only a "bridge fuel."

"In 20 years, there will be no fossil fuel," said Turner, who asserted that cars will run on electricity in 20 years. "We need renewable energy for a world without pollution, so kids won't get asthma."

Pickens strongly criticized U.S. dependence on imported oil, which is now $100 per barrel. A strong advocate of wind farms and solar energy, Pickens lamented Congress' failure to advance those issues.

"But when oil reaches $400 a barrel, we'll get action," he said. "All candidates say if they are elected they will stop our dependence on foreign oil – but, after their election, do nothing."